KALAMAZOO -- I tasted one Italian beef sandwich at a local restaurant that was so poor, I spent a couple of days running around town to find a sandwich that might restore my faith in the dish.

At the suggestion of a restaurant owner who likes Italian beef sandwiches, I found one worthy of note at Super Chicago Subs & Grill, 1408 Portage Road, a take-out eatery in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood. Patrons like the fried chicken wing dinners, the fried perch dinners and especially the Italian beef sandwiches ($4.99), which are delightfully sloppy, filling and tasty.

A bun of white bread is cut lengthwise and filled with shaved beef that has been dipped in hot beef broth and warmed through. The beef is shaved thin and is not too fatty or stringy. You get a lot of it in a sandwich -- so much it's hard to hold the sandwich together without spilling something. But the bread is sturdy enough to hold the sandwich together without disintegrating from the juices of the hot beef.

It is served topped with giardiniera, a spicy combination of serrano peppers, carrots, cauliflower, celery, olives, oil and spices. The giardiniera offers a spicy and salty jolt to the sandwich.

Most customers who order the sandwich get it dipped in the beef broth before it is wrapped to go. That makes it a little more soggy -- some like it that way -- and adds flavor. The sandwich is served with french fries and soda.

It offers a filling lunch, dinner or late-night bite -- Super Chicago Subs is open until midnight Monday through Thursday, 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 p.m. Sunday.
Super Chicago Subs also offers a popular variation, the Italian Combo ($5.99), which is a mixture of Italian beef and sausage.